Priorat (Priorato in Castilian) is a small, favored area within the greater Tarragona region that benefits from a hot, very dry, sheltered, and hilly microclimate; distinctive mineral-rich brown slate soil (llicorella); and a good stock of very old Cariñena and Garnacha vines, with the steepest and best sites concentrated around the town of Gratallops. A group of five Priorat wine makers led by René Barbier essentially reinvented this area, beginning with their releases from the 1989 vintage. Priorat wines have been on fire ever since, with a reputation for superconcentrated, high-octane Priorat wines from traditional varieties supplemented by mostly new plantings of Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Merlot.